An Oklahoma principal who apprehended an active shooter inside a high school is receiving the royal treatment from his students, who made him prom king as a thank you for saving their lives.
Kirk Moore, a principal at Pauls Valley High School, was crowned Friday night after students elected him in honour of his heroic efforts to subdue Victor Lee Hawkins, 20, the alleged armed assailant and a former pupil of Moore’s.
Hawkins is charged with one count of shooting with intent to kill, two counts of feloniously pointing a firearm, and one count of carrying a weapon to a public assembly, the District 21 District Attorney’s Office said in a Facebook statement.
In a TikTok video taken at the school’s prom, a crowd of students can be seen gathering around Moore, cheering, applauding, and placing a gold-coloured crown on his head as he smiles and high-fives a group of female students.
Moore was shot in the leg when the alleged assailant “entered the school, pointed his pistol, and yelled for everyone to get on the ground, ” special agent Meric Mussett of the Oklahoma state bureau of investigation said in a police statement to The Guardian.
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Surveillance footage of his life-saving charge went viral online. In it, he can be seen running into a hallway, wrestling the gunman onto a bench and forcing the weapon from his hand. Another staff member then steps out into the hall, kicks the weapon away from Hawkins, picks it up from the ground and calmly carries it away.
The principal was transported to a nearby hospital and treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. No one else was injured during the incident.
In a statement, Moore, who has been an educator for more than 35 years, thanked the community for the “outpouring of love and support” he had received since the attack, adding that he and so many like him are prepared to handle these types of events, saying he was “grateful for his instincts and training,” and that he is recovering and looking forward to returning to school.
Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May told CBS News last week that Moore’s measured tackle of the assailant undoubtedly prevented a catastrophe.
“It doesn’t surprise me the actions that he took, but it is amazing, the actions that he took,” he said.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids’ lives.”
Hawkins, who allegedly entered the school with two loaded semi-automatic pistols, is currently being held in Garvin County, Okla., with bail set at $1 million, according to the sheriff’s office.
He reportedly told investigators that Moore was someone he “did not like,” legal documents alleged, and said he “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did.”
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